Women's Boxing Champ Jisselle Salandy Dies in Car Crash

Women's boxing champion Jisselle Salandy, 21, died Sunday from injuries sustained in a car crash near Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

Salandy, a boxing knockout, who went undefeated in 17 pro fights, veered off the highway and hit a concrete column after she dropped a friend at the airport, according to the Seattle Times.

She died at Port-of-Spain General Hospital shortly after her car crashed in the early morning.

"The sport fraternity has suffered a tremendous loss and Trinidad and Tobago has lost an icon," sports minister Gary Hunt said. "Jisselle was a role model for young people, especially females.

Tamar Watson, a 21-year-old soccer player, was in the car with Salandy at the time of the crash. She was listed in critical condition at the same hospital, according to Hunt.

Salandy, who began her boxing her career at the age of 11, earned a welterweight title when she was 16.

On Dec. 26 she defended her WBC, WBA and WIBA belts against the Dominican Republic's Yahaira Hernandez.

"I cannot express in words the enormity of the loss for this country," said Brian Lewis, chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Board.